Tokyo Ravens - Volume 3 - Chapter 3.2

Part 2 
"......How could this be, Touji-kun is......" Tenma who had regained his consciousness was stunned when he heard Harutora's explanation. 
"I knew the spiritual disaster left after-effects in his body...... but I didn't think it would be like this......" Tenma had a difficult time concealing his shock, since, after all, he had just experienced the fearfulness of a spiritual disaster first-hand. Moreover, Tenma wasn't the only one like this, as Natsume and Kyouko were probably the same. Harutora lowered his head downheartedly. 
Harutora and the others had returned to the Onmyou Academy building. 
At the moment, the students who had been involved in the spiritual disaster were still being carried into the Onmyou Academy. They had more or less received spiritual trauma - they had developed the so-called spirit encumbrance [48] - and the teachers were currently performing treatment with all their power. 
Of course, Touji was also one of the students receiving treatment. 
Though his condition had stabilized, there was still a spiritual disaster residing in his body, so the Onmyou Academy had prepared a separate practical training room enchanted with a barrier for him, separating him from the other students, and specially having the teachers qualified as Onmyou doctors responsible for his treatment. 
Treatment - more accurately, it was re-stabilizing the seal that Harutora's father had cast. Harutora and the others had originally stayed by Touji's side, but had been sent away after the teachers told them "Leave the rest to us to deal with", and could only move to the room Tenma was in. 
"...Natsume and Kyouko as well, I'm sorry for always concealing it from everyone." 
"............" 
"Whatever, that kind of thing isn't so easy to talk about......" 
Natsume stayed silent after Harutora apologized, but Kyouko awkwardly replied. 
Two hours before, Touji and the others had still been classmates with a decent relationship, but after he suddenly became a living spirit before their eyes, it was no wonder they wouldn't know what to do. 
But it was because they were Onmyou Academy students with accurate knowledge that they didn't overreact to this unveiling. If the situation happened in the ordinary high school that Harutora and Touji had studied at before, the others definitely wouldn't just feel 'troubled' like Natsume and the others. 
Because of this, Harutora and Touji had chosen never to mention this matter when they were in high school, and they had continued taking the same attitude after they transferred to the Onmyou Academy. 
"After entering here...... I finally felt like Touji and I got together with everyone." Harutora spoke tirelessly with his head lowered. 
"We got along with everyone better than I thought at the start, so it became harder and harder for me to mention it...... I thought in my heart that it would be good to just stay like this...... I was scared of destroying the atmosphere that was so hard to build up......" 
When he said this, the continually silent Natsume's shoulders suddenly trembled and her eyes slightly widened, like she had thought of something. But, Harutora didn't notice her reaction, and continued to speak: 
"Please don't blame Touji for hiding this. He actually had no intention to hide it, but didn't say it for my sake. He definitely saw that I was very satisfied with my current life - especially my relationship with everyone." Upon saying this, a self-deprecating smile that was pained and a bit sorrowful emerged on his face. 
He thought of Touji and Hokuto, and it wasn't the dragon that emerged in his mind, but the girl - Harutora's and Touji's good friend, the shikigami with the body of a girl. 
Harutora hadn't mentioned Touji's circumstances to Hokuto either, his reason being exactly the same as right now. He liked it when the three of them messed around together and didn't want that relationship to change. Because of this, he hid things from his high school classmates and didn't tell Hokuto the truth. Thinking back on things now, maybe Touji actually wanted to say it and let his good friend know about his true self, but since Harutora didn't reveal it, Touji, understanding his good friend's feelings, went along with Harutora and hid the secret in the depths of his heart. 
"............" 
Harutora lowered his head without a word. After a while, he suddenly looked seriously at Natsume, Kyouko, and Tenma. 
"...Sorry, I apologize for always hiding it from you." Harutora spoke with a lowered head, bowing deeply in apology. 
"But he...... You don't need to worry that Touji will become a danger. After encountering the spiritual disaster, he stayed for almost a year in a related treatment facility to be treated. My dad and I went several times together, and the treatment process was really hard...... At the time, he actually couldn't control himself...... He almost became an oni, but I promise that there are definitely no problems right now." 
Harutora lowered his head, speaking the truth as if muttering to himself. Faced with these serious facts, the others didn't know how to respond for a while. 
Then, Harutora raised his head without warning. "On the other hand, my luck is really bad." He forced a smile, trying to alleviate the present atmosphere. "Today was pretty much a disaster. My exam went terribly, I got attacked by a Nue, got involved with an extraordinarily powerful Divine General, and Touji had problems...... and I made everyone else get involved. There's really no helping me......" He laughed casually, not like his usual smile at all. Instead, it made Kyouko and Tenma feel even worse. 

He couldn't think of any other ways to remedy things. The current him was truly desperate. 
"I'm really, truly sorry. I know just apologizing can't resolve any problems, and this was all my fault, so--" 
"Harutora." Natsume, who had been keeping her silence, interrupted Harutora's words as if to give him a sharp warning. "As your master, I order you not to continue saying such things." 
Harutora suddenly lost his words, and it wasn't just him, as Kyouko and Tenma also gazed at Natsume with bated breath. Those words had touched the heart of all the listeners present, almost a kind of spirit language... Even if it wasn't first-class magic, it could still be classified as a second-class spirit language. 
Natsume shot a sharp gaze towards her own shikigami, but she smiled lightly immediately afterwards, asking back in a naive tone: "'Sorry for always hiding it from you'?" 
Then, she leaned extremely naturally towards Harutora's side, whispering into his ear. "...With that, things are settled, Bakatora." 
"......What?" 
Not comprehending this, Harutora's face flushed. When Natsume saw this appearance, she quietly sent him a coy wink from an angle that the other two couldn't see. Then, she moved away from Harutora whose heartbeat was rapidly accelerating, turning to face Kyouko and Tenma. The pink ribbon in her jet-black hair danced lightly in the air. 
"Harutora and Touji, you both think we're all idiots. It's really maddening." 
"Uh, that......" 
"N, Natsume-kun?" 
"You agree, right?" Natsume's sudden action stunned Kyouko and Tenma, but she didn't pay any heed to that, slightly smiling at her two classmates. 
"To think they would worry that our attitudes would be completely different after learning Touji was a living spirit. What kind of joke is that, aren't you treating us like complete fools? Regardless of whether he's a living spirit or a demon, Touji's Touji, isn't that natural?" Natsume declared with a smile, her tone firm and free from doubt. 
"......That's right." Kyouko immediately showed an earnest gaze upon hearing that, replying happily. 
"But you can't blame him, guys always get things wrong in that area. Of course, Natsume-kun's an exception, right, Tenma?" 
"Huh - Oh, yeah! That's right, you two are way too mistaken!" 
The conversation was passed to Tenma, and he hurriedly expressed agreement with Natsume and Kyouko's assertion. Harutora murmured a "You guys......", then couldn't say anything more. 
Natsume giggled at Harutora's awkward appearance. "......Whatever, I'll forgive you this time, since after all - everyone has times when it's hard to reveal things." After saying this, she showed a happy smile as if secretly enjoying a secret that only she knew about. 
"Natsume......" 
His childhood friend's words warmed Harutora's heart. 
He had always felt a dismal weight in his chest since Touji had mutated, but this depression now gradually melted because of the heat Natsume had ignited. 
"......Thank you." He faced Kyouko and Tenma again. This time, it wasn't to apologize, but to say thanks. 
Kyouko shrugged her shoulders unconcernedly, and Tenma scratched his nose bashfully. Harutora noticed that he had always been mistaken, and his own luck wasn't bad at all. Rather, he was one of the rare lucky people in the world. 
Finally, he cast a grateful gaze towards Natsume. His childhood friend grinned spiritedly, a sunflower-like innocent smile on her face. Harutora felt a sense of deja vu when he saw this. 
"So this is where you were, Natsume-kun." 
Just then, a teacher ran up to Harutora and the others. 
Harutora saw the teacher's stiff expression and momentarily froze, thinking that something had happened to Touji. 
However-- 
"Principle Kurahashi wants you, could you go to the principal's office right now?"